The present invention relates generally to a remotely controlled aircraft. More specifically, the present invention relates to a remotely controlled aircraft having a remote control motor in the aircraft which can release the flight string at the aircraft and/or can control the flight direction of the aircraft.
Launching known remote-control glider systems is difficult. Typically, known glider systems are launched from a bungee cord connected to the ground, an airborne powered remote control airplane, a motor powered winch, or an elevated position (e.g., a cliff). Because these launch methods require additional equipment or a specific type of geography, these known aircraft systems are not desirable.
In an attempt to allow gliders to be used in more situations and geographic locations, some known systems combine a kite configuration with a glider configuration. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,669,403 issued to McKay nee Milligan discloses a main kite carrying a glider and a second smaller kite that travels the flight string of the main kite to release the glider once the main kite has obtained a sufficient altitude.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,087 issued to Moomaw and U.S. Pat. No. 1,927,835 issued to Kellogg each disclose a kite that flies as a glider after the flight string has been released at the location of the person controlling the kite once the kite has obtained a sufficient altitude. The Moomaw system further includes a motor mechanism on the glider that rewinds the flight string into the glider once the flight string has been released. These known systems, however, once the flight string has been released at a location on the ground, allow the flight string to dangle from the glider for at least a limited period of time during which the flight string can interfere the flight of the glider.
Furthermore, known systems do not have effective and simple mechanisms for steering a remotely controlled aircraft. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,317 issued to Kidd discloses remote control servomotors that control the position of a suspended pendulum weight. The pendulum weight is in addition to a separate landing system consisting of an undercarriage system having landing wheels. The undercarriage system is separate from the pendulum weight to provide a way of landing without damaging the servomotors. This known system suffers from the fact that pendulum weight combined with the undercarriage system unnecessarily adds weight, structure and complexity to the aircraft.